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>Census: Near-record level of US counties dying

>By HOPE YEN and JOHN RABY, Associated Press Hope Yen And John Raby, Associated Press – 11 mins ago
WELCH, W.Va. – Nestled within America’s once-thriving coal country, 87-year-old Ed Shepard laments a prosperous era gone by, when shoppers lined the streets and government lent a helping hand. Now, here as in one-fourth of all U.S. counties, West Virginia’s graying residents are slowly dying off.

Hit by an aging population and a poor economy, a near-record number of U.S. counties are experiencing more deaths than births in their communities, a phenomenon demographers call “natural decrease.”

Years in the making, the problem is spreading amid a prolonged job slump and a push by Republicans in Congress to downsize government and federal spending.

“You’re the anchors of our Main Streets,” President Barack Obama told small business leaders in Cleveland on Tuesday. “We want your stories — your successes, your failures, what barriers you’re seeing out there to expand. .How can America help you succeed so that you can help America succeed?”

Commissioners Ask Residents To "Take 10" In 2010

Commissioners Ask Residents To “Take 10” In 2010

Mar. 18, 2010

As the 2010 Census draws near, Garrett County government is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage everyone to complete and mail back their census forms.
“Participation is important to the future our community,” said a county spokesperson.

As a result, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners is issuing a challenge to everyone living in the county to “take 10” and beat the area’s mail participation rate from the 2000 Census.

“Taking 10 minutes to complete and mail a census form is the easiest and most efficient method of participate in the 2010 Census,” said the spokesperson. “For each census form returned by mail, the Census Bureau saves $60 to $70, or about $85 million for every 1 percent increase in mail participation.”

As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, everyone in the United States must be counted in the census. This includes people of all ages, races, and ethnic groups – citizens and noncitizens.

Conducted every 10 years, the census is more than just a population count.

“The 2010 Census will present a new portrait of America, showing us how our nation has changed in the past decade, and helping to determine what our communities need for the next 10 years,” the spokesperson said.

Census data provide numerous benefits to the people of this nation and the places we live. For example:

•Census data are used to reapportion seats in Congress and ensure proper district representation in state and local governments.

•Every year, the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to tribal, state, and local governments based on census data.

•Information from the census helps determine locations for childcare and senior centers, new roads, hospitals, schools, and community centers.

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If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Census officials getting early start on count

Workers may soon come knocking at area homes
Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

Cumberland — CUMBERLAND — Local officials were taken aback when the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday that census workers could begin knocking on some homeowners’ doors as early as Tuesday.

Through several months of public meetings with stakeholders representing the public school system, state prisons and the faith-based community, among others, there had never been a mention of census workers approaching residents until May.

Already, however, some 56,000 census workers are set to deliver forms to nearly 12 million addresses that don’t get their mail at their homes. This is despite nearly two dozen members of the Allegany County Local Complete County Committee spreading the word that first come notices in early March and surveys would arrive by mail between March 15 and 31.

Only if residents failed to submit forms, local representatives have repeated during public meetings and presentations at various interest groups, would a census enumerator knock on their door.

Monday’s announcement “caught me off guard,” said Elizabeth Stahlman, chairwoman of the local committee working to ensure 100 percent accountability.

A census worker who frequently attends the monthly meetings also said he was unaware of the issue. But Mike Gregorio, Census Bureau spokesman, said that’s been the plan all along.

“This office has known about it for a while,” Gregorio said. “About 90 percent of forms will be sent out. If you don’t receive mail at your own house, then you might expect someone to come knocking on your door to give you a form or leaving something on your doorsteps.”

Less than 10 percent are hand-delivered by census workers. Those efforts are concentrated in mostly rural areas, including parts of Western Maryland.

Most residents should receive their survey form, by mail or in person, before April 1. Beginning in May, census workers make their way to homes that have not mailed back a completed form. That process, Gregorio said, can extend into July.

Meanwhile, local committee members spent about 35 minutes Tuesday discussing various outreach efforts. A display will be available at the Hooley Plunge at Rocky Gap State Park on Saturday, Stahlman said. Promotional products have been distributed during high school sporting events and window displays have been offered to Allegany County Chamber of Commerce members.

Census Bureau Partnership Specialist Franklin Jackson Jr. said the wintry weather has put some plans behind schedule but emphasized the importance of a complete count.

“This is our last chance to get this right,” Jackson said. “Remember, resources are at stake. This is the last big push.”

The census determines yearly appropriations of more than $400 billion in federal aid to tribal, state and local governments.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Garrett County in need of more 2010 census takers

Commissioners want residents to take advantage of jobs

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Uncle Sam needs you — to work for the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010.

That’s according to the bureau’s Frederick office, which covers parts of Western Maryland including Allegany and Garrett counties. The office is stepping up its employee recruitment efforts in the two counties, said Patty Cox, a Frederick Census Bureau employee.

“We have recruiters in Allegany and Garrett, but it’s been more challenging to reach people there because it’s such a large area to cover,” Cox said.

In late February or early March the Census Bureau will be hiring temporary employees in the two counties to work as census takers. Beginning in April 2010, the census takers will go into local communities to collect data from households that do not return a census form by mail.

The issue came up briefly during Tuesday’s public meeting of the Garrett County commissioners. The commissioners released a prepared statement about the importance of the decennial census and local census jobs.

“It would be in the best interest of all citizens of the county to take advantage of not only the census count of 2010, but the jobs which will be available in the early spring,” the statement read in part. “Aside from the importance to the county of an accurate census count, these are good-paying opportunities for our citizens.”

Census taker jobs through the Frederick office start at a pay rate of $15.50 per hour. Census takers are also paid for mileage.

About 3.1 million applicants will be needed to fill census-taker jobs nationwide. Census takers work about 20 to 40 hours per week, usually in the evenings and on weekends, according to the Census Bureau Web site. The jobs are temporary and will last through the data-gathering phase of the 2010 census.

The Census Bureau has been recruiting workers since fall 2008 for the earliest stages of census preparation, but fall 2009 saw the beginning of its full-scale recruitment effort for census takers.

Cox said the bureau attempts to hire local people as census takers whenever possible to go out into communities and collect data. All prospective census takers are required to take an exam. That testing is going on now at the One-Stop Career Center in both Allegany and Garrett counties.

Every household should expect to receive a census form in the mail in March 2010. If the completed form isn’t returned by mail, the Census Bureau will mail a reminder to the same address. If the completed form still isn’t returned, a census taker will visit the address to collect the information in person.

The 2010 census form will look a bit different from those used in previous years. All households will receive a short form survey consisting of 10 questions, some of which are repeated to gather information about every person living at that address.

The Census Bureau did away with its long-form questionnaire altogether. Instead, detailed population information is gathered using the American Community Survey, which is sent to a small portion of the U.S. population — about 3 million households — each year.

People interested in applying to work as census takers can contact the Allegany or Garrett County One-Stop Career Center, call the toll-free U.S. Census Bureau jobs line at (866) 861-2010, or go online to 2010censusjobs.gov.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: census

>Census: Near-record level of US counties dying

Commissioners Ask Residents To "Take 10" In 2010

Census officials getting early start on count

Garrett County in need of more 2010 census takers

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